Improvement in sheet-metal cans and boxes



H.. c. LELAND.

-- SHEET METAL CANS AND BOXES. V 179 o35 PatenLed June 20,1876.

win $9303.: v [22 00227091 NLPETERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON D C.

HENRY G. LELAND, OF HARTFORD, GONNE-OTIGUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEET-METAL CANS AND B OXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 179,035, dated J due20, 1876; application filed April 12, 1876. 1

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. LELAND, of the city and county of Hartford,in the State of Connecticut, have invented an Improve ment inSheet-Metal Cans and Boxes, of which the following is a specification:

The object of this invention is to provide a hermetically-sealed can orbox for paints and other articles of trade, which, while effectual- 1yclosed or sealed, shallibe capable of being readily opened, either by afirm direct pull upon the cover by torsion exerted upon the same, or bythe wedge-like or prying action of a knife or blade inserted under theedge of the cover. I

The invention consists in a sheet-metal can or box, in which the coveris sealed or attached to the body of the can or box by an amalgamjointthat is to say, by an amalgam applied at the junction of the coverwith the can or box, in such manner as to hermetically connect the twotogether, the amalgam made preferably of tin, combined with a suitableproportion of quicksilver, being made design edly of such strength orconsistency as to retain the cover in place under ordinary conditions ofuse, storage, or transportation, and

yet be capable of rupture by moderate force applied thereto in any ofthe methods hereinbefore referred to.

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a sheet-metal can or boxmade according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same.

In the manufacture of the can or box the body A may be of the usualeylindric or any other suitable form, and the cover B may, in likemanner, be of any of the usual or ordinary kinds adapted to fit upon andclose the top or open end of the body A.

As represented in the drawings, the cover B is constructed with theordinary rim or flange a, forming a slip-cover fitted upon the upperpart of the body, the body and cover as thus constructed being of anordinary or common type; but the joint a, formed by the edge of thecover against the body A, instead of being soldered by the use of asolderingiron and solder, commonly so termed, is filled, coated, orcovered with an amalgam of quicksilver and tin, or of quicksilver andany other metal which will provide an amalgam that will be of suchstrength and consistency as to form a hermetically-sealed joint, and yetbe capable of rupture with suffieient ease to permit the wrenching orwithdrawal of the cover from the body of the can or box. The amalgam is,of course, applied in its soft,- pasty, or fluid condition, as the casemay be, in any n'i'anner that may be preferredas, for example, 'by meansof a metallic brush, with which the amalgam may be wiped around thejoint to close the same.

I do not confine myself to any special mode of applying the amalgam tothe joint, nor to any special composition of the amalgam, nor to anyspecial configuration of the body A, my invention being capable ofvarious modifications in the methods of its application, ac-' cording tothe variety of can or box in the construction of which it is employed.In some cases the amalgam joint may be formed by simply wiping thesheet-tin (of which cans are ordinarily composed) at the junction of theedge of the cover with the surface of the body with metallicquicksilver, which, uniting with the tin on the surface of the sheetmetal, will ofitself form an amalgam capable in some cases of providinga sealed joint sufficiently tight for all practical purposes in suchcases. I do not claim acan constructed with an ordinary soldered jointarranged between the cover and the body of the can to be broken by forcedirectly applied to the cover to separate the cover from the body 5 butWhatI do claim as my invention is- A hermetically-sealed sheet-metal canor box in which the cover is attached to the body by an amalgam joint,the amalgam being made of such strength and consistency as to' retainand seal the cover in place under conditions of ordinary usage, and yetcapable of fracture, without rupture from a moderate degree of forceexerted with that object upon the cover of the can, substantially as andfor the purpose herein set forth.

. HENRY O. LELAND.

Witnesses: A

H. VEL'LS, Jr., EDWARD HoDY.

met. I

